A higher share of second homes than 97% of compared French towns, at 45%
Where nearly a third of households are headed by a retired person in the typical compared French town, Chalais has 50%. Households in social housing are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. The town is home to 152 residents in 73 households, by the 2023 Census. 2.6% of homes are flats.
Throughout this page, the Indre median and the France median are the median of compared communes (those with an overall grade), each figure its own median. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
What stands out about the people of Chalais
One home in two is a second home
The census counted 68 second homes and occasional dwellings in Chalais, 45% of its 150 homes: higher than in 97% of compared French towns. 94% of them are houses. Their owners live elsewhere, so they aren’t in the population figures on this page. Homes & cars ↓
Fewer residents than in 2012
Chalais had 166 residents at the 2012 census and 152 in 2023, down 8%: slower growth than in 95% of compared French towns. Population ↓
An older town
Half of Chalais’ residents are under 52.8 and half over; the median of compared French towns is 44. 26% are 65 or older (France median 22%), 3.3% 80 or older. Ages ↓
Written from INSEE’s census 2023 on this page, against compared French towns.
Only 4.1% of households have no car in Chalais
Every home the census counted: main residences, second homes and occasional dwellings (INSEE counts them together), and empty homes. Owning and renting are on Cost of living.
All homes · share of homes
Type of home
Cars per household · share of households
Some 8.2% of households are newcomers of under two years, against 27% who have been there 30 years or more. Higher than in 55% of compared French towns: 7.1% of homes stand empty. In the typical compared French town, households without a car come to 11%.
Slower than most: −8% since 2012, behind 95% of compared French towns
Residents at INSEE’s last three censuses, each recast in the 2026 commune boundaries. France has no yearly estimate by commune between censuses.
2012 to 2023
2017 to 2023
Over those years, the median Indre town changed −5% and the median compared French town +5%. Between 2012 and 2017 the population moved −16%, then +9% to 2023.
Older than 90% of compared French towns: half of Chalais is over 52.8
Shares of residents by age at the 2023 census.
Age groups · share of residents
Median age of the 3,798 compared French towns
■ Chalais 52.8. The median compared French town: 44.
By its share of residents aged 65 and over (26%), Chalais is above 73% of compared French towns. On residents aged 15 to 24, Chalais sits lower than 54% of compared French towns: 10%.
Women and men · all residents
46% women, 54% men
About 119 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Indre 53.6%, France 51.8%.
Couples with children: 29%, a higher share than 68% of compared French towns
A household is everyone who shares a main home (résidence principale). Household types come from INSEE’s fuller sample of a quarter of census forms.
Against the Indre median and the France median
Living alone · share
Average household size: 2.1 people. Single-parent households are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns. The benchmark for couples with children in the typical compared French town: 25%. One-person households make up 36%, against 35% in the typical compared French town.
A median of €24,290 a year per consumption unit
The standard of living (niveau de vie) is a household’s disposable income after taxes and benefits, divided by its consumption units (UC) to allow for its size and make-up: 1 for the first adult, 0.5 for each other person 14 or older, 0.3 for each child under 14.
Medians of compared communes. Source: INSEE, Filosofi 2023.
The median standard of living in Chalais is €24,290 a year per consumption unit: lower than in 68% of compared French towns.
14% of households are headed by a manual worker, more than in 53% of compared French towns
Households by the socio-professional group (PCS) of their reference person, INSEE’s own categories. Jobs and commuting are on the Work & commute page.
Households by reference person’s group · share of households
Households headed by a manager or professional are rarer here than in 99% of compared French towns.
Each household is counted once, by the occupation of its reference person (usually the oldest working adult).
Fewer immigrants than 68% of compared French towns: 4.6%
INSEE publishes two measures, which overlap but aren’t the same. Neither is the UK’s “born abroad”.
Share of residents · census 2023
Immigrant (immigré)
Born abroad, not French at birth. Someone stays an immigrant after becoming French. A French citizen born abroad (for example in Algeria before 1962) is not one.
Foreign national (étranger)
Not a French citizen today, wherever born. A child born in France to foreign parents can be a foreign national without being an immigrant.
Where 4.3% of residents are foreign nationals in the typical compared French town, Chalais has 3.3%. To put it in context, 6.5% of residents are immigrants in the typical compared French town.
INSEE publishes no country of birth or ethnicity by commune in these tables, and the census doesn’t ask about religion.
Above 90% of compared French towns: 50% of residents 15 and over are married
Residents 15 and over by how they live: the census asks both the legal status and whether people live as a couple.
Residents 15 and over · share
Against a figure of 25% in the typical compared French town, the share of single residents in Chalais comes in at 21%. Married residents: 43% in the typical compared French town, for comparison.
24% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification, below 71% of compared French towns
Highest diploma of residents 15 and over who have left education, in French terms: the levels don’t map one-to-one to UK or U.S. ones.
Highest diploma · 15 and over, out of education
Locally, 18% of adults out of school have no qualification. Typically, 30% of adults out of school hold a higher-education qualification in the typical compared French town.
The 8th oldest of 41 French towns of 152 to 2,582 people
The 40 compared French towns nearest in population, by median age. Hover for each one’s second homes and immigrants; click for its page.
The youngest is Villejust (37.2), the oldest Prayssac (62.3).
2 of 3 neighbors are older than Chalais
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by median age. Source: INSEE, census 2023.
| Town | Median age | 65+ | Second homes | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chalais | 52.8 | 26% | 45% | 4.6% |
| Le Blanc 6,164 · 9.9 mi | 52.8 | 34% | 9.2% | 4.4% |
| Argenton-sur-Creuse 4,786 · 14.9 mi | 52.1 | 30% | 8.7% | 5.1% |
| Montmorillon 5,821 · 17.9 mi | 57.4 | 38% | 3.8% | 5.3% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Census 2023. INSEE’s census is a rolling survey: a fifth of small communes each year, 8% of homes in large ones each year. “2023” pools the surveys of 2021 to 2025, so the figures describe the town around 2023, not on one day.
- Medians of compared communes. The comparisons are the median of the département’s compared communes and of France’s (those with an overall grade), each figure its own median: not the total for the département or for France, which large cities pull towards their own figures.
- Immigrants and foreign nationals. INSEE’s two measures: an immigrant was born abroad without French nationality; a foreign national isn’t French today. Neither is a count of people born abroad, which INSEE doesn’t publish by commune.
- Second homes. Homes used for holidays or weekends, with occasional dwellings (kept for work, for example), which INSEE counts together. Their owners are counted where they live, not here.
- Standard of living. INSEE’s Filosofi: disposable income per consumption unit, from tax and benefit files, 2023. The poverty rate is the share of residents below 60% of France’s median. Not published for the smallest communes.
- What France doesn’t ask. The French census asks nothing about ethnicity, religion, language or health, so this page has no such section.
Questions about who lives in Chalais
What is the population of Chalais?
152 at INSEE’s 2023 census, 8% fewer than in 2012 (166).
How old are Chalais’ residents?
The median age is 52.8, older than 90% of compared French towns. 17% are under 18 and 26% 65 or older.
How many second homes are there in Chalais?
68, with occasional dwellings: 45% of all homes, against 2.1% for the median compared French town.
How many immigrants live in Chalais?
INSEE counts 7 immigrants (born abroad, not French at birth), 4.6% of residents, and 5 foreign nationals (3.3%). The medians of compared French towns are 6.5% and 4.3%.
What is the median income in Chalais?
€24,290 a year per consumption unit in 2023 (median of compared French towns €25,970). Source: INSEE, Filosofi.
Sources: INSEE, census 2023 (population, ages, households, homes, marital status, diplomas, immigrants, foreign nationals, employment), 2026 geography · INSEE, Filosofi 2023 (standard of living, poverty) · IGN Admin Express (boundaries) · Medians and percentiles: TownRatings, over compared French towns, updated November 4, 2026. Under the Licence Ouverte / Open Licence 2.0 (Etalab).
Contains public sector information under the Licence Ouverte / Open Licence 2.0 (Etalab): INSEE, DGFiP, the Interior Ministry’s statistics service (SSMSI), the Ministry of Education (DEPP), the Health Ministry’s statistics service (DREES) and the Housing Ministry (Carte des loyers). Commune boundaries: IGN Admin Express.